Category Archives: Uncategorized

Shop for MADE IN AMERICA Products

Posted on 09/06/2011 | Leave a comment

Made In America There’s no doubt that the #1 problem facing the USA is the unemployment rate. Millions are unemployed while still others are underemployed. We’ve lost a lot of manufacturing jobs to China and customer service jobs to India. We’re not going to get our economy rolling again until we get those jobs back

In the meantime, some citizens are taking matters in their own hands by supporting companies whose goods are Made In America. ABC News recently did a series of reports on products made here. On that site is an interactive map that lists the brands/products made in each state. I’ve become more aware of the products I buy – or don’t buy. As a self-employed person, if I want people to support MY business, then I in turn should support THEIR business. Fair is fair.

Become Vocal

I have a Jeep (made in Toledo) and recently was at Crown Jeep in Dublin. The Jeep brand has a lot of history in the USA via WWII. As I was browsing their Jeep branded clothing I noticed that none of it was made in America. That’s just wrong and I mentioned it to the nearby cashier. I also tweeted about it to @Jeep and used the hashtag #Jeep. Jeep clothing should be made in America!

Vote With Your Dollars

Recently I was shopping in the Zettler Hardware store in Powell. I saw a product I was interested in, but there were 3 components to it with a total price of close to $100. All 3 pieces were made in China. I decided to not buy it.

Shop Stores Who Carry USA Products

Some of the big box stores or mass merchandisers are starting to go back to carrying and advertising Made In America products. Give them your support and let them know why you’re shopping there. BTW, in case you’re wondering, I do not shop at WalleyWorld because they have been a major cause as to why so many manufacturing jobs have been lost here. That’s just my own personal protest – not that it matters to them.

Challenge the Politicians

USPS shipping tape made in China As companies are seeking “stimulus” money, challenge the politicians to only give money to those who support USA jobs. The US Postal Service is the latest to ask for monetary help. I purchased this shipping tape a couple of years ago. Do we not have any companies in America that can make tape for the USPS? Shouldn’t they be required to only buy American products especially if they want our tax dollars?

Help save your own job by helping others keep their job. Let’s all chip in and try to help each other.

Copyright © 2011. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANY GOOGLE-TYPE ADS SHOWN ON THIS BLOG ARE NOT SUPPORTED BY THIS BLOG. DO NOT CLICK ON THEM.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged ABC NEWS - Diane Sawyer, Jeep apparel not made in America, Made in America, USPS products not made in america

It’s time for WOOFSTOCK in Worthington

Posted on 08/17/2011 | Leave a comment

All you dog lovers – or those wanting to be a dog parent – are invited to WOOFstock coming Sunday, Aug 28 at Camp Mary Orton in Worthington. It’s an afternoon of dogs, music, food and fun. Plus, maybe you’ll find a new forever friend from the adoptable dogs that will be there.

Columbus Dog Connection WooFstock in Worthington OH

Click to enlarge then click again for printing size

Camp Mary Orton is located off of Rt 23 (High St), north of I-270 and just north of the intersection with Flint Rd and just south of Northwoods Bl where the Huntington Bank branch is . The entrance is on the west side of Rt 23 and is somewhat concealed. Look for a drive that goes into the woods. Google Map

The flyer says it will be held ‘rain or shine’. Murph doesn’t do rain!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Camp Mary Orton, Columbus Dog Connection, WOOFstock

Have fun planning your landscape

Posted on 07/03/2011 | Leave a comment

I enjoy landscaping. Perhaps I should say that I enjoy PLANNING landscaping more than I enjoy doing the actual work, but then who doesn’t. I’ve made mistakes over time but that’s some of the fun.

Click to enlarge

When I had my first home built in 1987, I had an empty pallet to work my magic. I bought some plant books but soon became frustrated because everything I liked was for Zone 6 or higher, plus, all the choices for Zone 5 was just very confusing. MS Excel was new and a valuable program for my job at that time, so I decided to create a spreadsheet of ALL the plants that would/could grow in central Ohio. I set it up so I could easily search for various parameters that were important to me … height, width, sun/shade, spring/summer/fall flower color, spring/summer/fall leaf color, deciduous/evergreen, and whether the plant attracted birds. I worked on it all during the first winter of owning that home. When completed, I had entered over 500 plants complete with botanical name and the common name.

Before you make fun of me, remember the Internet was very limited 24 years ago.

Although I used the info from various books, the one I liked the best was The National Arboretum Book of Outstanding Garden Plants. I’ve used it so much that most of the pages have become unglued and are now loose.

Click to enlarge

When I wanted to do a section of my lawn, I would merely set up a data sort of the various columns in Excel according to the “look” I wanted to achieve. I would then print out my options and take my list to Anderson’s (on Bent Tree Bl) since they had a better selection and more likely to have the “less common” plants.

Click to enlarge

As I said, I made some mistakes in my selections, mostly the plants that were to be “vigorous”. I wanted quick growth to transform my vacant lawn, but I learned that “vigorous” really means that the plant will soon overrun everything! I now take that descriptor much more seriously.

I did end up with some really interesting plants, that professional landscapers may overlook or typically not use.

I still have that old Excel spreadsheet and always make sure that I convert it to the newer version when I update computers. At some point, I suppose it will no longer be able to be accessed, but for now it still works. Specific plant varieties have changed over the years, some improving for disease resistance, so I must allow for that when making my choices now.

Occasionally, I drive by the “old” home and surprisingly the current owner has left many of the original plants. That’s amazing, because by now the home stands out next to the neighbors because it looks like a jungle. I guess they also like the privacy.

See landscaping renovation of my current home.

Side Note: That’s my beloved, sadly missed Rommel, my first Doberman, in those photos. It was this yard that skunks seem to favor for their winter retreat in October. Rommel got “sprayed” too many times as the skunks tried to make their winter home under the deck.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged central ohio real estate, landscape renovation, plants for central ohio, selecting plants for landscape

Home for sale on 5ac near Powell & Dublin

Posted on 04/14/2010 | Leave a comment

If a typical subdivision is not for you, then you might just like this home nestled on 5 acres. It’s conveniently located to Powell or Dublin employment, and is near the Scioto River marina at Home Rd. Just consider the many ways you can enjoy this huge yard. There’s even a path back to a clearing in the woods to enjoy nature. Plan on deer being frequent visitors.

The wooden windows allow plenty of sunshine into the living & dining rooms. The kitchen offers ample storage space with a view of the large backyard and woods behind. The laundry area contains overhead cabinets, a half bath and access to the large unfinished bonus room over the garage.

Near the front stairs is the owner’s suite with whirlpool tub, shower stall and walk-in closet. Upstairs are two bedrooms, each with two walk-in closets and a dormer window. Downstairs is a full, extra high basement with poured concrete & rebar built into the block walls.

This property is zoned FR-1 (farm residential) in Concord Twp. At the junction of Home Rd & Dublin Rd, go west to the third home past Concord Park. Per an appraisal, it has 2011 sq ft. SOLD for $300,000 in 1 day at 100% of list price. Google Map.

Copyright © 2010. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Central Ohio, Delaware County, Delaware Ohio, Elaine's Listings, Homes, Homes for sale, Uncategorized

Tagged 5 ac wooded land for sale, central ohio real estate market news

I’ve got my morels!

Posted on 03/17/2010 | Leave a comment

Yes, I do have morels … morel mushrooms, that is. I received a tweet from Jill at The Hills Market this morning that they had received 3 lbs and would be putting some aside for me. So I drove down – again – to pick up my cherished morels. (see background story).

morel mushrooms at The Hills Market, Worthington OH 43235 I knew they would probably be expensive, but I was prepared to pay whatever. While I don’t have an official bucket list, if I did, having a meal once again of these special mushrooms would be on the list. The price? $45 per pound, but they were packaged in quarter pound containers.

Since morels aren’t available here until early May, I asked where these pieces of gold came from. The Hills staff thought this batch came from either Washington or California. And, yes, they are hand gathered … hence the price. This form of mushroom can’t be cultivated.

morel mushrooms from The Hills Market, Worthington OH 43235 When I was growing up, we referred to them as sponge mushrooms, because that’s what they look like. The ones we picked (in Knox County) were cream colored … not the darker variety that I bought today. They were also larger, usually 3-4″ tall. Most of those in the colander to the right are 1-2″ tall.

I fixed half of them tonight just as my Mom used to. I gave them a light coating of flour, then lightly sauteed them in butter, with a dash of salt. They are very rich tasting, similar but different from a portabella. They tasted wonderful!

I want to thank Jill at The Hills Market for her excellent customer service in advising me through Twitter. That type of personal service seldom happens with the big chain stores. It’s also a reminder as to why we should support our local, small business owners as they provide more jobs nationally than the “big guys” and are an important factor to our economy.

The next time you want an special cut of prime meat or fresh-daily seafood or an extensive selection of wine, be sure to shop at The Hills Market, located on Rt 315 just north of I-270 at the bottom of the Worthington Hills subdivision.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Housing sales still doing well in spite of the snow

Posted on 03/03/2010 | Leave a comment

2010 early sales are still promising, in spite of the week or so we lost with February’s huge record-breaking snowfalls. Too many neighborhoods looked like the graph’s photo. The pending sales – those that are in-contract – are still strong in most school districts.

The graph below shows the single-family homes that were in-contract (white bars) at the end of February. The cyan-colored bars shows actual home closings for Jan & Feb 2010. The light mint-colored bars show actual closings for Jan & Feb 2009.

Ideally we would like all the areas to look like the Olentangy school district, where 2010 sales exceeded 2009, and the pending (future) sales far exceed the actual sales. Even so, the pending sales are higher than actual sales for all but two school districts – Delaware and Buckeye Valley. Those two districts are more rural and have homes in the northen part of Delaware County where snow-filled roads could have restricted showings even more.

Click to enlarge graph

It is so encouraging to see this positive news since the real estate market is so critical to our entire economy. To see average prices for even more school districts, view Sales by School District on my web site.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized